High Cheese

The Phillies announced today that they have acquired righthander Roy Halladay from the Blue Jays, and in a separate trade sent lefthander Cliff Lee to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for minor league outfielder Tyson Gillies and right-handers Phillipe Aumont and Juan Ramirez, according to general manager Ruben Amaro Jr.

The Phillies traded minor league righthander Kyle Drabek, outfielder Michael Taylor and catcher Travis d’Arnaud to the Blue Jays. Halladay agreed to a 3-year, $60 million contract extension with the Phillies that includes a $20 million vesting option for a fourth season.

“Without question, Roy is one of the top pitchers in the game today,” Amaro said. “He has the talent, professionalism and makeup that embody what we look for in players and we’re very happy to have him in a Phillies uniform for at least the next four seasons.”

Halladay, 32, went 17-10 with a 2.79 ERA and nine complete games in 32 starts for Toronto in 2009. He led the American League in complete games and shutouts (4), finished second in innings (239.0), third in ERA, tied for fourth in wins and quality starts (22), and was fifth in strikeouts (208).

“Roy is known as the best pitcher in baseball and will have instant respect,” manager Charlie Manuel. said “He’s a number one, a blue chipper and I expect him to stabilize our pitching staff. Roy brings a great work ethic and tremendous character and he’ll have a big presence in our clubhouse. As an organization, our goal remains the same – to get back to the World Series and win it again.”

Lee was acquired by the Phillies from the Cleveland Indians on July 29, along with outfielder Ben Francisco, in exchange for four minor league players. Lee was 7-4 with a 3.39 ERA in 12 starts for the club. In the 2009 playoffs, the 31-year-old went 4-0 with a 1.56 ERA in five starts.

“It’s never easy trading a player of Cliff’s caliber, but we felt it was the right move to make at this time,” Amaro said. “We’ve acquired three players that we think have big upsides and will strengthen our player development system.”

Gillies, 21, played last season with Class A High Desert where he hit .341 with nine home runs, 42 RBI and 44 stolen bases in 124 games.

Aumont, 20, was 2-6 with 16 saves and a 3.88 ERA in 44 combined games between High Desert and Class AA West Tennessee last season.

Ramirez, 21, was 8-10 with a 5.12 ERA and one complete game in 28 games (27 starts) for High Desert in 2009.

"We are very excited to have Cliff Lee on board in the Seattle organization," Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik said in a statement. "It goes without saying what a quality pitcher and competitor he is and what he will mean to our ballclub and organization.

"I also want to congratulate Philadelphia and Toronto on how this whole deal was handled. We gave up three very nice prospects to Philadelphia. I think they will be a nice piece of the Phillies' future, and I want to thank Tyson, Phillippe and JC, and let them know we'll be rooting for them as they progress toward the majors. It was not an easy decision for us, but we could not pass up the opportunity to add a pitcher of Lee's ability to our major-league team."